Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC Has $1.15 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 883 shares during the quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Bcwm LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.00.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $117.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $119.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.59. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $91.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.32%.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.